


The trainwreck of falling for him

by Ostodvandi



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Feelings Realization, Fluff, M/M, Sylvain Jose Gautier Being An Idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25989985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ostodvandi/pseuds/Ostodvandi
Summary: Sylvain realizes his feelings for Dedue might be beyond friendship when a half-full glass of beer falls on him.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 12
Kudos: 37





	The trainwreck of falling for him

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: There is a reference to child abuse (Sylvain's), and mentions of alcohol. There is also some implied dimilix, and some mild swearing both from Sylvain and Felix.

Sylvain is a big supporter of the idea that you don’t need a reason to go out and party with others: the concept of going out there and having fun with your friends should be enough. Of course, he is known as the most irresponsible of his group of friends since childhood, and convincing his friends to come to enjoy some alcohol and loud music is never easy. Annette, Mercedes, and Ashe, those are the easiest to convince; but when it comes to Felix, Ingrid, Dimitri, and especially Dedue, he has to plan his reasoning carefully.

‘We all deserve to relax a little,’ he says to all of them at different points in time. ‘And do something big to say goodbye to the summer and stuff.’

Sylvain prides himself on his ability to convince people of almost anything, on being good using his tongue - in more ways than one - but even he is surprised when Dedue accepts the plans rather quickly. By Dedue standards, anyway. 

“I think it could be entertaining,” is what he has said, and the words are stuck in the back of Sylvain’s mind from the moment he reads them.

They choose a small club that has opened recently, with the clear intention of taking advantage of the  _ three beers for the price of one _ offer. At least, that is Sylvain’s intention when he gets there, flirting aside. 

He doesn’t expect his friends to be able to follow his rhythm - he’s gotten used to this since he was a teenager, and, if anyone, Dorothea or Yuri would be able to keep up with him. However, they are not here. When he comes back from a failed attempt at flirting that had ended up with a burning cheek and nearly a  _ mojito  _ poured all over his clothes, he is surprised to find Felix, Dimitri, and Dedue simply sitting at a table. 

‘Have you three been here the whole time?!’ he yells over the club’s music, and Dimitri smiles sheepishly. At his right, Felix grumbles, sinking deeper into his sweater, and Dedue takes a sip of his drink. Sylvain squints. Is that juice? He has never seen anyone pay for juice at a club, unless that someone was immensely drunk. ‘C’mon, you could dance a little?’ Felix’s nose creases. Alright, so that’s not in his plans. ‘You could at least have some pity on Dedue.’

Felix finally rises from the depths of his wrinkled sweater, rolling his eyes at Sylvain. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘You’re third-wheeling the poor guy, obviously.’ Dedue snorts and Sylvain grins, encouraged to say more despite his better judgment. ‘Thankfully, I’m here to solve this.’

‘We’re not-’ Felix’s voice rises, only for him to interrupt himself and look away. ‘Go fuck yourself.’

Sylvain laughs it off, sitting down in front of Dedue. ‘Did you know, Dedue, that the world is incredibly small?’

‘Is that so?’

Sylvain nods. ‘Earlier, I found this girl, you know, and she was… pretty.’ Sylvain gestures by framing his face with his hands, feeling a tingle in his stomach when Dedue keeps his attention on him. The green of his eyes sure pops out under this lightning. ‘And I went and told her she looked absolutely  _ breathtaking  _ and I just couldn’t help it but ask her for a little dance.’ He winks, and he doesn’t miss the grin on Dimitri’s face, because everyone knows how this story is going to end. ‘And as it turns out, I had already had… a thing with one of her friends, who also happened to be there.’

Dedue takes another sip of his juice. ‘Could that be the reason your cheek is slightly swollen?’

‘Bingo. She saw me and went right for my face. Even when I begged her not to! Imagine ruining my gorgeous face because of a… misunderstanding.’

‘Where is it?’ Felix asks suddenly.

‘Where is what?’ Dimitri asks, just as confused as Sylvain is.

‘The gorgeous face,’ Felix says. ‘I don’t see any.’

Dimitri snorts and tries to mask it with a cough, covering his mouth. Dedue is better at keeping a straight face, but something still pulls at the corners of his mouth. It feels good to see him smiling, even a little.

He wants to see him smile more, and he will, he decides. He has enough anecdotes about being rejected and getting in trouble for a week, and, for some reason, Dedue keeps looking at him. Directly in the eyes. Doing strange things to his heart and brain.

However, as always, he accidentally fucks up when a string of uncontrolled words rolls out of his mouth. ‘See, this is why I deserved being beaten up.’

The atmosphere in the club suddenly turns chilly, despite the number of people dancing near them, as Felix, Dimitri, and especially Dedue stare at him uncomfortably. But, like with everything else, he’s been through this before: he puts himself together and smiles, rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Come on, guys, it was a joke. A  _ joke _ . Don’t be so serious about it, this is a party.’ 

‘Sylvain-’ Dedue starts, but Sylvain shakes his head. He can’t ruin the night for Dedue just because a little of his childhood trauma slipped out.

‘It’s  _ fine _ ,’ he repeats, trying to appear relaxed. He extends his hand to grab some chips from a bowl, and shoves them into his mouth, leaning back on his seat. Then, he smiles at Dedue as naturally as he can. ‘Anyway, did you know I loved trying out weird tricks as a kid?’

Dedue shakes his head. ‘I didn’t, no.’

‘Not much of that phase has stayed until adulthood, though,’ he says, sighing dramatically. ‘But I can still balance things on my head pretty well.’ He ignores the way Felix’s eyes squint at him, and how Dimitri stares at him like he’s about to witness a car crash. ‘Want to see a demonstration?’

Dedue blinks, looking at Dimitri and Felix, and then back at Sylvain. ‘...Sure.’

Sylvain grabs his beer, placing it on his head. As soon as his fingers start letting go of the beer, and despite his best efforts, he can feel the unstable glass over his head moving, and-

‘Fuck-’ The beer falls on him, but he manages to grab the glass before it shatters against the floor. With a relieved sigh and a beer-soaked pride, he leaves the glass on the table, safe and sound. ‘Well, that was-’

But he is soon interrupted by the loud sound of Dedue’s wheeze, the laugh that comes out of his chest, so clear despite the noise around them. The way his muscles fight to free themselves from the shirt he’s wearing today, or the small tears on the corner of his eyes.

‘I- I apologize,’ Dedue says after a snort, covering his grin with his hand. ‘Do you need help?’

Oh, God knows he needs it. But the help he needs isn’t about the stained clothes or his ruined hair, it’s more about the way his heart is racing at the sight of Dedue laughing with all his chest. Suddenly he realizes that he’d like to touch Dedue’s hair - his face, his hands, his lips too - and would love to see him smile for the rest of his life, and that all of these realizations mean one single thing.

He’s into Dedue.

Oh, he is  _ so  _ into Dedue.

This is so fucked up.

By the time his brain allows him to function properly again, Dedue is still staring at him, waiting for an answer. ‘N-No- I’m fine,’ he says as he gets up, and almost trips on his own feet while doing it. ‘Give me a moment.’

He runs to the nearest bathroom - and does so alone, for some goddamn reason. Dedue had offered to accompany him to the bathroom and help him put himself together, and they could’ve been alone here, and Dedue’s hands would’ve helped him take off his shirt, and Dedue would’ve looked at him with an amused smirk on his face, and-

He’s fucked up. Why is he thinking about this? It’s not the first time he fantasizes about someone else, but he doesn’t fantasize about people stroking his hair tenderly, and yet.

He wants Dedue to stroke his hair tenderly. 

God fucking dammit.

* * *

Sadly, the fun ends eventually. Dedue helps Dimitri to the taxi Felix called ten minutes ago, and the man practically collapses on the seat, tipsy and too tired to do anything beyond muttering a “thank you” and trying to fasten his seatbelt. Dimitri will probably need a shower when he gets home if he doesn’t fall asleep before that. Dedue himself just wants to flop on a mildly soft surface and close his eyes, but there’s no way Felix can carry both of them to their apartment.

‘I’ll go on the copilot seat,’ Felix announces, and Dedue nods. Just as he’s opening the door to the other side of the taxi, Sylvain comes to mind. He must still be at the bus stop, and he did say he’d be fine on his own, but…

‘Give me a second.’ Felix turns to him, confused. ‘I’ll go get Sylvain if that’s alright.’

Felix shrugs. ‘Sure.’

The bus stop in question is just a few meters away from the taxis, and, as expected, Sylvain is sitting there, looking as lost and tired as Dimitri, but infinitely more lonely. It stirs something within Dedue: he wants to drag him out of there, and - embarrassingly - hug him the way people would do in a romantic movie.

But they’re not in one of those, so he just calls his name. ‘Sylvain.’

Sylvain looks up, blinking when he notices Dedue standing there. ‘Dedue? Is something wrong?’

‘Do you want to go in the taxi with us?’

Certainly, the flush he sees growing on Sylvain’s cheeks is due to the alcohol, as is his trembling smile. ‘Ah, I wouldn’t want to bother anyone, y’know.’

‘There is a free seat in the taxi,’ Dedue replies, so quick that it startles Sylvain. ‘So that won’t be a problem. I doubt Dimitri minds if you stay for the night, either.’

Sylvain considers it, and Dedue swallows. He can’t keep the taxi driver waiting for so long, but at the same time, it hurts to even think of leaving Sylvain here. Would it be strange to admit that he, feelings of friendship aside, just longs to look at his face?

‘...Alright.’ Sylvain finally says, getting up from the bench. ‘Where’s that taxi?’

They walk up to the taxi, and Dedue gets in first, sitting between Dimitri and Sylvain and helping the former with the seatbelt. Most of their way home is silent, except for Felix’s voice giving their driver indications. Dimitri dozes off on his shoulder, fast asleep like a little baby, while Sylvain fights against the exhaustion. 

Dedue stares at his own hand, so close to Sylvain’s, and thinks about how easy it would be to stroke it. To take it, intertwine their fingers if Sylvain felt like it. Despite his dazed mind, he still feels hesitant to even suggest it, especially when Felix and the taxi driver are right there. But he wants it, he wants to hold Sylvain’s hand so badly, and those thoughts won’t leave him alone. He can’t even trace back the moment when they appeared, only that he hadn’t realized what those were until this very night.

As if Sylvain has read his mind, Dedue hears him muttering something, dragging almost every syllable to some extent. ‘Did you… have a good time?’

‘I did.’ Dedue nods. ‘Would you like to use my shoulder as a pillow as well?’

‘That- Uh-’ Sylvain stumbles on his own words, most likely due to exhaustion. ‘I… yeah. If that’s OK...’

It is sweet. Cute, even. Dedue wants to bury his face in his hands. Maybe he will yell into a pillow like a teenager once he’s laying on his bed. ‘It is OK. Sleep until we get home.’

Sylvain’s head lies on his shoulder and all of his body curls up against Dedue. ‘Hey…’

‘Yes?’

‘Can I… You know...’ His finger taps Dedue’s palm. ‘...Hold it?’ 

Dedue’s face is  _ burning  _ \- not a usual occurrence. He is good at hiding his emotions, but this… how do you stop this?

‘Yes, of course. I’d like to.’

Sylvain nods, resting his hand on Dedue’s. Dedue twists his wrist so they’re palm against palm, and their fingers intertwine like they were made to fit like this. They stay like this for the rest of the drive.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ostodvandi)!


End file.
